Secrets in Selium
by stygianwitch
Summary: What happens to Estral in Selium ? Let's tie up a few loose ends. After the HKT. Mysterious visitors, and a decision for Estral to make.
1. Don't upset the apple cart

**Chapter 1. Don't upset the apple cart**

"It's been a long night," Estral thought to herself, as she sifted through yet another stack of fragile vellums. She had sent the other archivists to bed long before, but a hunch had kept her in the chamber, the "Arcosian Alcove" as the other archivists had started to call it. She felt there was more information on Mornhavon if she could only find the right documents. It seemed the crumbling layers of the last stack were held together by the dust of centuries instead of the lacing running through the holes in each vellum. As she squinted in the flickering candle light on a particularly patchy page, runes surrounding the recurring sigil of Mornhavon – the dead tree – glowed faintly. The sigil was repeated as she scanned another vellum, carefully stacking the pages on top of each other. The runes looked Arcosian, not Old Sacordian as the majority of the other vellums were written in.

Estral remembered Karigan telling her about the tattoo on the old woman's palm. Grandmother, the second empire prisoners had called her. She could see the runes clearly, imprinted against her closed eyelids, and even as she started dozing, the runes began to reform in her head, spinning around the dead tree, until she thought she discerned a pattern in their wake.

"Mistress, Mistress," a voice called across the room to her.

Estral blinked away her sleepiness, sitting up suddenly on the hard stool. What a fine example she was setting, she thought. Biersley, the butler from the Golden Guardian's residence hurried between the stacks, to finally stand, out of breath in front of her. Estral's mouth hung open, as she gazed thunderstruck at Biersley. In all her years at Selium, she had never seen him so agitated.

"Biersley," she finally managed to say, "what has happened?"

"Mistress, it's them, they've come back, what will the Lord say?"

"Biersley, please calm down," replied Estral. "You shouldn't be down here with this bright light."

"Quite so, quite so." The butler appeared to be pulling himself together, remembering the strictures of the archival area.

He took his silk cravat from his neck, wiped his sweating brow, then wrapped it around his lantern to dim the glare. "Oh dear, oh dear, yes, dim the light. Mistress, you must come quickly. Who knows what they will do to the house."

"Really, Biersley," soothed Estral, "tell me, who has come? Guests of Father?"

"Yes, no….no," he replied. "You will see, come quickly now."

Estral quickly stacked up the vellums she had been studying and followed Biersley as he scurried across the room and up the stairs leading to the main rooms of the archive. "I must get back here soon," she thought, feeling there was something she kept missing. Perhaps her father would be able to see a pattern woven in the runes.

As Estral followed Biersley's lantern bobbing ahead of her down the Selium campus pathway towards home, she mentally ran through a list of possible guests who might have stopped by. Her father often extended invitations to old friends and scholars, but usually they nighted at the Selium Guesting House. Certainly there was no one she knew to put Biersley in such a state. If only her father wasn't away on yet another of his many journeys. Well, she wouldn't find out who the visitors were if she didn't get there soon!

Nearing the turnoff from the main road leading to the house, she could see Biersley's light swaying to and fro as he mounted the front granite stairs. He was certainly leaving this in her hands, she thought with a slight frown. Biersley turned to see if she was following behind him, then quickly opened the front door and disappeared inside. Closing the front gate he had left open, Estral walked slowly down the flagstone path. To the right of the front entrance steps sat a wagon crammed with furniture and household items.

"Gypsies," she thought, "Rhovian gypsies."

Her father, Lord Fiori, cultivated widespread musical contacts on his journeys across Sacoridia and the neighboring lands. Gypsies often camped near Selium at her father's invitation. Although, she recalled, most of the teachers preferred the wagons to be camped far away from the school grounds. In fact, she couldn't recall any of their wagons ever coming this near to her house. Nor did this wagon look exactly like the gaily painted conveyances that were part of the traveling gypsy trains.

As she mounted the steps, Estral came to complete halt when she saw who awaited her in the front entrance hall.


	2. Seeing is Believing

**Chapter 2. Seeing is believing.**

"Well, she certainly doesn't look like her father," sniffed the thin one.

"She looks quite sensible," smiled the plump one. "Yet see her eyes, yes, the same sea-green color – runs in the blood you know. My dear sister, we must introduce ourselves. You first . . . ."

"Yes, yes, the proprieties must be followed." Leaning hard on her hickory cane, the thin sister moved forward to stand in front of Estral.

"Child, we have distant relatives in common. We are Isabelle and Penelope Berry, or Miss Bayberry and Miss Bunchberry, which is how we prefer to be called. We are traveling right now and thought we would visit with your father and see our old residence."

"That's because our house was flooded, you know," said Miss Bunchberry. Estral rather preferred her to Miss Bayberry. Her face was wreathed in a smile. At least, she thought the plumper one was Miss Bunchberry. Estral tilted her head to hear better.

"Oh, you live on the coast," said Estral, searching for something to say since she couldn't remember meeting two such peculiar elderly ladies. "Distant relatives?" she wondered to herself. She didn't remember Father mentioning aunts or cousins with such peculiar names.

"No, it was the pirates," said Bunchberry.

"Pirates? Did you say pirates?"

"She can't hear either, just like that Green Rider, Bunch," retorted Bayberry. "IT WAS THE PIRATES," she said loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"You know a Green Rider?" said Estral. "Yes, I am hard of hearing in one ear, but please, let me ask you to come in for some tea and sit down in the library. I am sorry to keep you standing in the hall here. We can talk more inside."

"You see, Sister," said Bay, "Aaron has raised her well." Estral found herself pinioned between the two eccentric ladies as they all walked together down the hall and turned towards the short walk to the library. She didn't even know how the sisters knew where the library was in the house. And very few people referred to her father as Aaron. In fact, no one that she knew ever referred to him by given name, except as Lord Fiori.

The library was suffused with a warm glow from an inviting fire already blazing and the tea service shone on the serving table, set up for three. Biersley stood waiting, still agitated as the women entered.

"Mistress Estral, the service was already set up," he stuttered. "I don't know how it . . . ."

"Yes, young man," said Ms. Bayberry, rapping her cane as they crossed the library over to the settee." "Letitia has it all in hand. She used to have a position here, if you must know. Run along now."

"Letitia really likes to show off sometimes," whispered Bunch to Estral. "Don't worry, we'll keep her in check."

Estral wobbled to sit on one of the chairs facing the couch as the two sisters sat primly down. She didn't know what to expect next.

"Pour the tea," said Ms. Bayberry, "and we shall have a nice little visit to talk about all that has happened here in Selium. My, it has been such a long time. Selium doesn't look at all like we remember it," Bay leaned back with a fond smile at her sister.

Bunch smiled also. "I hope having our wagon pulled up in front doesn't inconvenience you," she said to Estral. "We just had to bring certain of our things along with us on this journey."

She chatted along, talking about their trip down the Kingway from their manor house deep in the Green Cloak, with comments thrown in by Bay at intervals. Estral listened intently, watching their faces to discern their remarks in the dim light. She marveled at the adventures of the two elderly ladies. They looked quite at home in the library. Estral couldn't imagine the two of them as displaced refugees traveling along in such a merry fashion.

It was when they mentioned meeting a Weapon and nobleman that Estral suddenly interrupted.

"The Weapon, and . . . did you meet Lord Amberhill, the one who helped Karigan?"

Bunch stopped talking and looked quickly at Bay. "Yes, the Green Rider who visited us, oh, a few years ago. I believe that was her name, such a lovely child. Has she continued in the messenger service? She took on quite a challenge delivering her first message to the King. They were such mannerly young men also. They offered to help us, which wasn't necessary as we are well provided for."

"Karigan is one of my best friends," Estral replied. "We studied together here at Selium."

"Is she now?" interrupted Ms. Bayberry, "how fortunate for you. Where is your father? Leticia only laid a service for three. "

Estral blinked at the change in topic. Somehow it seemed to become more than just a cousinly chat.

"My father is traveling," she said simply. While she knew more or less the nature of his latest journey, it wasn't information she would share, even to someone who claimed to be family.

"If it wouldn't be rude of me," she began, "might I ask how you are . . . related to him, er. . . us?"

"Through Poppy, of course," stated both sisters in unison. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Such a history to explain," said Ms. Bayberry. "Let me see where to begin, although I am surprised you aren't familiar with it. Miss Poppy is a distant cousin, on the Fiori side . . . according to what our mother had told us. She is your father's cousin and we are her cousins, so you, Bunch and I are cousins thrice removed, more or less. Although she doesn't have a musical bone in her body, compared to Aaron, of course.

"Bay is putting that quite nicely," said Bunch eagerly. "Miss Poppy can't carry a tune and, well, that used to irritate her no end, even though she was quite taken, quite taken with him. Maybe that why she's so, so . . . . "

"Irritable," retorted Bay. "She just wasn't cut out for Selium, unlike yourself. I am sure you are quite the musician, from what we have heard. Actually we are quite surprised to still find you here and not out and about. I see you do not wear a master knot."

Estral glanced at her shoulder involuntarily. "I am not sure I am cut out for traveling," she replied.

'Nonsense, child," retorted Bay. "If we can travel down the Kingway at our ages, you certainly can. After all, how else will you compose what people want to hear or listen to the songs of the road?

"Bay," said Bunch eagerly. "Why doesn't she come with us? It would be perfect. We can visit Poppy and then, maybe return once the house is back to the way it was."

Miss Bayberry's eyes narrowed as she looked at Bunch.

"Bunch," she said exasperatedly, "I somehow don't think Leticia would be at all pleased to have to deal with one more person on the road all the time with us. She never wanted to travel after Father and Mother settled in their house."

Bunch glanced around and leaned in conspiratorially to Estral. "We wouldn't want to upset Leticia," she said quietly. "After all, we've come this far without her being to upset."

Estral smiled at both sisters. "You are both so kind to consider asking me along with you. Perhaps someday I will decide."

Miss Bayberry's eyes met hers. For an instance Estral thought she would say something more, for there was an odd expression on Bay's face.

Bay suddenly sat straighter in her chair and thumped her cane as she got to her feet. "Heavens, child . . . where has the time flown? You look all tuckered out and here we are carrying on without any thought of the lateness of the evening. Why don't you turn in and we can talk more in the morning. Come along Bunch."

Timbre, Estral's cat wandered into the library while Ms. Bayberry was talking and sat quietly contemplating the two sisters. Stretching, he patted over to Estral and rubbed against her shin, purring loudly.

Estral suddenly felt exhausted, realizing that the moonlight streaming in the library window had changed position, indicating its downward journey. Dawn would not be far off.

"Can I have Biersley prepare rooms for you," she asked, although she wasn't sure he was still up. But, then, he hadn't come in as was his usual habit to bid her good night.

"No, no, we will retire to our tent," laughed Bunch. "Leticia has made it quite comfortable. Good night, good night!"

Estral sat wondering as the two elderly ladies walked down the hall. She heard Ms. Bunchberry complimenting her sister at how well she was walking lately, stating it was all due to Leticia's efficacious herbal remedy for stiffness.

Timbre jumped into her lap. "I know," she told him as she stroked his ears. "I have never met such a peculiar pair. Karigan talked about them and their house and how they gave her the moonstone, but meeting them is quite a different experience.

As she gathered herself to go upstairs, Biersley came to the library door.

"Mistress Estral," he ventured. "Will they leave soon?"

"I honestly don't know," she said. "We somehow didn't get around to talking about that."

"That always happens," he replied hollowly. "I just don't want it to start again."

Estral peered at Biersley in the low light. "Start what again? Why did you say, 'they're back', earlier? What do you know that I don't?

Biersley looked around, and then whispered, "Magic. They know magic. It will disrupt this house again and . . . ." He stopped, flustered.

"Biersley," said Estral firmly. "I will find out all about it tomorrow, I promise."

"Yes, yes . . .," he said. "I will clear in here," he said.

As Estral walked up the stairs to her room, she thought, "it's been quite a night."


	3. Breakfast and something more

Would love some reviews – please let me know if this is worth continuing.

Chapter 3 – Breakfast and something more

Estral slowly awakened to gentle taps on her face. Rolling over, she pulled her pillow over her head. "Go away, Timbre."

The cat calmly walked over the other side of the bed and continued to pat the very top of her hair which was the only part still showing. When Estral didn't respond right away, she felt Timbre's claws start to scratch in her hair.

"Oh, all right," she said, extremely vexed. "Why didn't Biersley feed you?"

Suddenly she remembered the events of the previous evening (or perhaps early morning, depending on how one looked at it), and sat up quickly. Usually Biersley knocked at her door each morning and announced breakfast. Maybe he also was sleeping in, she thought. Now that is something even her father would be most amused to see.

As she padded around her room, putting on her robe and slippers, she thought about Biersley's service with her father. He had worked for her father as long as she could remember, and her father had often remarked at how he had "come with the house," having served the prior Guardian. The other butlers in town referred to him as "Fussy Britches Biersley," which was probably close to the mark.

The kitchen table was set out for her with a pot of apple butter, cheese and fresh bread, along with her usual tea mug and breakfast mix of tea leaves, but the butler was nowhere to be found.

"Hang the gods," she exclaimed out loud! "I totally forgot about Miss Bayberry and Miss Bunch."

She rushed to the front door, still in her sleeping clothes. Yanking it open, she peered outside.

It was still early in the morning, which surprised Estral as she felt she had slept through to the mid morning break. She could hear the rising bells on the campus, through the gentle mist that was falling. Although the autumn season was well underway, a touch of summer had recently followed the cooler weather. It was welcome, but the weather change had also rolled in a warm fog. The misty air wafted in, rising up from the city proper below. As she searched through the mist, she realized she couldn't see a tent or a wagon.

Deciding to walk to the end of the steps and down the porch on the side of the entrance, she spied Biersley walking through the waving grasses butting up against the back path.

"Biersley," she called, "have you seen the Berry sisters this morning ?

"N- no, Mistress," he stuttered. "Their wagon isn't here. They have already left, perhaps very early this morning. But I don't _see _the wagon ruts in the dirt." He ran his hands through his wispy hair, till it stood up in tufts on either side of his anxious face.

He continued on his way until he reached the porch and stood in front of Estral. He took a deep breath, and tried to bring his usual manner to bear.

"Have you broken your fast yet this morning?"

"No, don't worry about me Biersley," Estral started to say. "Wait, perhaps I will eat in the library this morning, if you don't mind bringing my plates there."

"Yes, miss." The familiar response seemed to calm him down. Bowing to her, he smoothed down his hair and straightened his coat as he walked into the house.

Estral sat for quite some time, her breakfast untouched, thinking about the events of the prior evening and the morning. Why did the Berry sisters stop by and why were there no wagon tracks to show there had even been a wagon at all ? She could only surmise that the rain could have muddied up the tracks – it must have rained heavier at day break. "What terrible weather to travel in" she thought to herself.

As she got up to leave, she noticed one of her father's lap harps on the side of the fireplace. "Funny, I don't remember leaving it there," she said aloud.

She was meticulous about storing any instrument because she had once lost privileges for a whole month, imposed by her father, when she left a guitar out in the front hall. Lord Fiori was easy going about a great many things, but _not_ when it came to handling musical instruments.

As she picked up the lap harp, she saw the score underneath. It was titled, "Lament of the King." It was unfamiliar to her. Where did it come from? A discreet knock at the door startled her.

"Any thing else mistress?" asked Biersley.

"Yes," she replied. "Did you put this here?" she indicated the harp and parchment.

As she turned to show him the parchment, he turned ashen white and proceeded to drop the tray he was holding, with a resounding crash!

"What in Aeryon's name," she started to say, "Biersley, what _is_ the matter?" He was standing stock still, staring at her. Turning suddenly, he hastened out of the room and down the hall leaving her in total bewilderment. She charged after him. Somehow, she would get an explanation as to what was going on around here!


	4. Runes and Riders

**Runes and Riders**

Estral strode back and forth in the morning room, trying to piece together what Biersley had told her. Or rather what he hadn't told her, in between dire moanings about magic, the song scroll and their recent guests.

Biersley, it seems, had once been on the road with her father when he was journeying many years before Estral had come to live at Selium. The Golden Guardian had stopped at a magnificent manor house in the Green Cloak for the night. "Rather odd", Biersley had said. "The house just seemed to appear on the path ahead of them."

The house belonged to Professor Berry (who had still been alive at the time). Her father had spent a great deal of time with him that evening. That left Biersley time to 'gamble' with the house staff and he had lost quite a bit of money to Leticia. Money he never had a chance to win back. Estral thought perhaps he had been 'sweet on her' but didn't want to interrupt Biersley.

At the end of the journey, Biersley observed Aaron rolling up a song parchment in his saddle bag, Aaron Fiori played bits of it once for Biersley during their journey home.

"A sadder song you never heard, Mistress," he whispered. Lord Fiori never played it again, but he said it was called "The Lament of the King," Biersley looked at Estral with fearful eyes. "He said if was from the time of the Long War. If it was ever heard in full, death would visit the castle." Biersley had never seen the parchment out during all his years at their residence. He believed Lord Fiori had burned it, not wanting to keep such a dangerous document. Biersley also said the house just "vanished" when they rode down the path the next day, like it had never been there at all. "Bad magic," he said, "the Professor had to leave Selium because of it."

Estral feared for King Zachary, and most of all for her friend Karigan, knowing how she felt about the king. As she unrolled the score to examine it again she noticed the dead tree at its bottom, and some runes that looked familiar. She realized the runes looked exactly like those on the vellum she had been examining the night before.

Estral carefully laid the fragile almost translucent vellum over the music score. The runes lined up exactly when the dead trees were superimposed on top of each other. Now all she needed was a translation.

"Mistress Andovian," the baritone voice behind her said. Estral muffled a small scream and turned to see a tall Green Rider striding across the archive room towards her.


End file.
